CINCINNATI, OHIO- In a second-round game between the Florida Gators (20-14, 9-9 SEC) and Xavier Musketeers (20-13, 8-11 Big East) that wasn’t particularly close, both programs will now shift their focus to their new coaching hires they’ve recently made. With both programs dealing with disappointing seasons and failing to make the 2022 NCAA Tournament, they’ve decided to move on from their head coaches. One day after selection Sunday, Florida fired Mike White (142-88), and Xavier followed pursuit by firing Travis Steele (70-50) two days later. Both programs have quickly found their coaching replacements, however, with Florida hiring San Fransisco’s Todd Golden (57-36) and Arizona’s Sean Miller (422-156).
Game Recap
As for the actual game, Xavier seemed to have no trouble transitioning from Steele to interim coach Jonas Hayes, beating the Gators 72-56. Nate Johnson paved the way for the Musketeers’ offense, notching a team-high 16 points, along with five rebounds and one assist. Johnson wasn’t alone in the offensive effort, as four other Musketeers had double-digit points. Among those were Jack Nunge (12 points and eight rebounds), Colby Jones (11 points and five rebounds), Dwon Odom (10 points and seven rebounds), and Zach Freemantle (10 points and seven rebounds). For Xavier, it was surprising to see l
Paul Scruggs struggle as much as he did, as he only had two points in 19 minutes.
For Florida, they played how they did all season long, where they were unable to find any consistency with shooting the ball. As a team, the Gators went 21-64 (32.8%) from the field and 6-30 (20.0%) from three-point range, and had just three players total to make a three-point shot. Surprisingly, Xavier wasn’t much better, going 26-53 (49.1%) from the field and 4-20 (20.0%) from downtown. Both teams also committed many turnovers and personal fouls, as Florida had 15 turnovers and 19 personal fouls while Xavier had 18 turnovers and 13 personal fouls.
Despite the awful shooting and unnecessary amount of turnovers, the Gators didn’t have that bad of a statistical performance. Freshman Guard Kowacie Reeves actually led the Gators with 14 points, and was followed by Tyree Appleby and Colin Castleton, each of whom had 10 points. Reeves, Appleby, and Castleton were the only Gators to notch double-digit points, and Phlandrous Fleming was the next closest player with nine points. Fleming did have a solid performance nonetheless, also posting eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. With the increased reliance on Reeves, Appleby, and Castleton, Florida struggled to gather any other offense from their bench, as they were outscored by Xavier’s bench, 26-11.
Tip Ins
- With the dominating win, Johnson and the Musketeers are now set to face the winner of Sunday’s matchup between No. 1 Dayton and No. 4 Vanderbilt.
- In suffering another blowout loss, the Gators are set to begin their offseason early and hope for Golden to turn Florida’s Basketball Program back to their winning ways.
- Xavier covered the three-point pregame spread, and the game officially went under the O/U of 144 (finished at 128).